The Savoy on ITV: when does season 2 of London hotel TV show start 2022, and who owns the Savoy Grill?

ITV documentary series The Savoy goes behind the scenes of Britain’s first luxury hotel following its reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hotel staff show veiwers around the decacdent venue which has been a popular haunt of the rich and famous for more than a century.

The new Royal Suite designed in collaboration with luxury fahsion house Gucci, and costs guests an eye-watering £16,000 a night will also feature in the series.

The suite was designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian fashion house, and the connected histories of the two icons of luxury, as founder Guccio Gucci worked as a porter at The Savoy as a young man.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who manages the Savoy Grill and featured in the first season, will also return as he opens a new restaurant.

When did the Savoy open?

The Savoy first opened in the Strand in central London in 1889, and was built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, an impresario who had made his money putting on Gilbert and Sullivan productions.

The Savoy was owned by the Carte family for more than a century and is famous worldwide for its luxury status.

The hotel has 267 rooms, four restaurants, the oldest cocktail bar in London - American Bar -  and 600 members of staff on hand to cater to their guests.

In 2007, the hotel closed for three years for an extensive £200 million refurbishment, and in 2020 it was forced to close again due to the pandemic.

The Savoy closed on 23 March 2020 in line with government guidance, reopening in September that year, before closing again in January 2021 and finally welcoming guests back in April 2021.

Why is The Savoy famous?

The Savoy was the first luxury hotel in Britain - it had electric lights throughout the building, electric lifts, bathrooms in most rooms, and hot and cold running water on demand.

While this is something that you would expect from an Ibis today, at the time of its opening, no hotel in the UK could offer all these amenities.

But what makes The Savoy such an iconic London locale, is the famous faces that have stayed at the hotel over the years.

Writer Ernest Hemingway and Prime Minister Winston Churchill both drank at the American Bar.

Actors Charlie Chaplin and Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, and Marilyn Monroe were among the hotel’s guests, as were American President Harry Truman, and the (at the time) future King of England, Edward VII.

Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, lived in the hotel for the last years of his life, which no doubt cost a large fortune.

Who stars in The Savoy?

As the series is a documentary, most of those in front of the camera are hotel staff.

The two main members of staff to feature in the series are Savoy butlers Sean Davoren and Michael Peluso.

Gordon Ramsay will also feature in a few episodes as he moves forward with his latest venture, Restaurant 1890.

Celia Imrie, who is known for her roles in St. Trinians, Nanny McPhee, and the ITV miniseries Titanic, narrates the show.

When is The Savoy season 2 release date?

Thje first episode of season two aired on ITV on 15 June at 9pm.

There are four episodes in the season and they will be released at the same time weekly.

Episodes will also be available to watch on the ITV Hub shortly after they are first broadcast.